Platform-operated machine.



F. B. STAMM.

PLATFORM OPERATBD MACHINE.

APPLIUATION FILED 00T. 2B, 1913.

THE NORRIS PETERS CO., PHOTG-LITHD.. WASHINGTON. D. C

P. B. STAMM. PLATFORM OPBRATED MACHINE. APPLIoATIoN FILED ooT. 2a. 191s.

1, l 1 2,572. Patented ont. 6, 1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEBT 2.

Caf@

THE NORIS PETERS CO.. FHOm-LITHOA, !ILA.HING7`ONY D. C

P. B. STAMM.- PLATFORM OPBRTED MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED 00T. 2a, 191s.

1 1 12,572. Pateted Oct. 6, 1914.

` Y 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Il( I 219 THE NORRIS PEIERS C04. PHOTO-LITHOY. WASHING roN, D r.:

P. B. STAMM. PLATFORM OPERATBD MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED 00T. 28, 1913.

l, 1 1 2,572. Patented Oct. 6, 1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

l HNNHIIIIII Il f 7HE NQRRIS PETERS Co.. PHOw-LITHO., WASHINGTON, D, n

FRED IB. STAMM, 0F LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

PLATFORM-OPERATED MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 6, 1914.

Application filed ctober 28, 1913. Serial No. 797,818.

T0 all whom t may concern Be it known that 1, Fiuan B. STAMM, citi- Zen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles` in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Platform-Operated Machine, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a platform operated machine of a type shown in Patent No. 1,026,325, May 20th, 1912, which is adapted for use as an advertising device or directory, selectively controlled by an op erator, the forcible operation of the machine being produced by the weight of the operator. 1n the said former patent, 1 have found in practice that the paper roll would buckle and pile up on the driving roller at the time of stoppage and this threw the paper off the rollers, making it necessary to replace the paper properly on the roller after each operation. have found that this was due to the fact that the selective mechanism operated to stop the driving member and that when the driving member was stopped, the momentum of the driven member and parts geared therewith continue to move forward, thereby unreeling paper from the driven roller and causing it to pile up againstthe driving roller which had been stopped, causing the paper thus loosened to fall down over the flanges of the rollers, and the main object of the present invention is to entirely remove this difficulty. In the said patent, a bank of keys was employed for selectively controlling the operation of the curtain operating mechanism, but by my construction 1 employ a bank of keys for selectively controlling, not the curtain operating mechanism, but the curtain operated mechanism. 1n other words, 1 control the driven roller instead of the driving roller, so that when the driven roller is stopped, it checks the onward movement of the paper immediately, and prevents it from buckling or piling up on the driving roller, or from slipping olf from the rollers, and holds the paper perfectly smooth and in proper position, in fact causing a slight stretching effect on the paper due to the momentum of the driving roller and its associated mechanism which acts to pull upon the paper and smoothly stretch it after the driven roller is stopped. 1n addition to this new and different result, I also provide a construction to equalize the downward pressure from any point on the ment.

platform, so that the mechanism operated by the platform will operate equally well, no matter in what position the person stands on the platform.

In the previous patent referred to, a considerable weight was required to operate the same, making it uncertain in operation when a person of light weight stood upon the platform, and a further object is to so construct the operating mechanism that it will operate in the most direct manner and absorb the minimum power, so that a very light weight on the platform will be sufficient to perfectly operate the machine.

A further object is to give a uniform tension to the curtain so that no matter to what distance it is operated, its return will be uniformly actuated and no greater weight will be required to operate the machine to move the curtain the maximum distance than is required for moving it the minimum distance, whereas in the previous patent, the greater curtain movement required a greater weight to operate it than did the short curtain movement on account of a spring being employed to return the curtain, the tension of which spring was increased with the distance the curtain was moved.

Other objects and advantages will be brought out in the accompanying descriptio-n.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is afront elevation of the machine. Fig. 2 is a vertical section on line a02-x2, Fig. 1. Fig. 8 is a horizontal plan view of the lower portion of the machine, with the platform and pedestal removed. Fig. 4 is a vertical section on line aft-x4, Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the governor. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the operating gear. Fig. 7 is a rear view of the upper portion of the machine with the back cover removed. Fig. S is a side elevation on an enlarged scale of the starting catch. Fig. 9 is a section on line QoL-m9, Fig. S. Fig. 10 is a detail view in side elevation of the sheave over which the weight line passes. Fig. 11 is a section on line .mux, Fig. 7 Fig. 12 is a section on line x12-41212, Fig. 9, sho-wing the release catch in normal locking position. Fig. 18 is a view similar to Fig. 12, showing the release catch being automatically lifted and about to rengage and lock the operating gear upon the conclusion of its return move- Fig. 14 is an enlarged section on line alli-, Fig. F ig. 15 is a front elevation of the interlocking segment and associated gears. Fig. 1G is an enlarged view in detail of a portion of the interlocking' segment and a key lever. Fig. 17 is a perspective view of the outer endof a key lever. AFig. '1.8 is an enlarged vertical section on line ULL-m18, Fig. 11.

The machine comprises a base portion 1, with a pedestal 2 and a head 3. lVithin the head is located the exhibiting portion of the device and the power for operating it is produced by the weight of a person standing upon a platform lwhich is mounted on the base 1 and provided with four vertical racks 5 which mesh with pinions (S on two shafts 7. The platform 1 is thus supported at four points and near each corner thereof. .ln order to produce a positive and unvarying angular relation between the two shaftsl 7, they are provided with sprockets 8 which are connected by a chain 9, see Fig. 3. Mounted on the outer shaft l is a wheel 10 to w iich is attached one end of a chain 11, the chain passing downward and underneath another wheel 12 on the shaft 7, the

. wheel 12 simply acting to guide the chain 11,

while the wheel 10 draws upon the chain 11 whenever the platform is moved down and the shafts T are rotated. The chain 11 is connected to another wheel 18 arranged at right angles to the wheel 1Q and fixed on the lower end of a vertical shaft la which is eonnected by a universal joint 15 with an intermediate shaft 16. That portion of the chain which operates over the sheave 13 has its links at right angles to the other portion so that the chain readily follows the periphery of the wheel 13.

The intermediate shaft 16 is connected by a universal oint 1T with a head shaft 18 and mounted on the shaft 18 are two gears 19 and 20, the gear 19 being rigid and meshing with a pinion 21 on a shaft @n the shaft 22 is a gear 23 which meshes with a pinion 24 on a shaft Q5 which carries the driving curtain roller 26. The gear 2O is loose on shaft 18 and meshes with a pinion 2T on a shaft 28 having a gear 29 which meshes with a pinion 30 on a shaft 31 carrying the driven curtain roller 82. A curtain 38 is wound on the two rollers, that portion of the curtain containing the mattei' which is to be eX- hibited, normally being rolled up on the driven roller and when the machine is operating'7 the driving roller acts to draw the curtain off the driven roller and wind the curtain up on the driving roller. rlhis action takes place through the before described gearing whenever a person stands on the platform e, suitable key operated means being provided, however', for properly controlling` this movement, as will be described. The reverse movement of the curtain is secured by means of a weight 34C which has a sheave 35 and is suspended in the loop of a. line 3G which extends down into the pedestal 2, one of the upper ends of the line 36 being fixed at 3T, sec Fig. 7, and the other end passing over a sheave 38 and thence onto a spiral slieave spool 39 fixed on the shaft 31. This weight exerts a constant tension on the driven shaft 31 which holds the curtain properly taut during the outward exhibiting movement of the curtain, and after the eX- hibition has been made, acts to impart a reverse movement to the curtain by winding the shaft 31 reversely until the parts are restored to normal position.

The head 8 is provided with a transparent panel 10, through which the mattei' to be exhibited by the curtain displayed when the machine is operated, and the operation is controlled by a bank of key levers #11 hav ing buttons l2. Each key lever is pivoted at -il to a post #1, see F 187 the linger button being' mounted on a stem 15 which is pivcted to the key lever 11. The outer end of the key lever 11 has a wedge L16, see Figs. 16 and 17, and the outer ends of the respective key levers are guided by a segmental comb 4L?. iievolubly associated with the comb 4:7 is a segmental interlocking bar l8 having a plurality of wedge shaped slots 19 which lie underneath the respective wedges 16 and projecting partially into each opening /19 is a shoulder 50, see Fig. 1G. The inner ends of the respective key levers 11 bear against the lower ends of a series of selecting pins 51 which are slidably mounted in a frame 52 and are yieldingly held in lower position by springs 53. The selecting' pins 51 are arranged in two circular rows, see Fig. 1.4i-, and on the under side of the operating gear 20, see Fig. 6, are two stops 54 and each having a spring linger 56. The stops 541i and 55 are respectively adapted to strike against the inner and outer rows of pins 51 when the pins are elevated.. Thus the stop 511 will be arrested by any of the inner circle of pins7 but will escape the outer circle of pins, while the stop 55 will engage with any of the outer circle of pins. By this arrangement I am enabled to group the pins 51 in two short arcs rather than in one long` arc, thereby making a more compact mechanism.

A lever 57 is pivoted at 58 and is slotted to engage a lug 59 on the segmental interlocking bar L18, and a spring 60 acts against the lever 57 in a direction tending to shift the interlocking bar 48 to the right. Whenever a key lever l11 is depressed, it lifts the associated pin 51 which will act to stop the movement of the operating gear 2O at a corresponding angle and at the same time the we( ge i6 of the key lever moves down into the associated slot with inclined face -19 and pushes the segmental interlocking bar to the right and the upper flat edge of the wedge 46 thus locks underneath the shoulder 50 thereby automatically locking the key lever 41 in depressed position until it is released. rl`his shifting movement of the interlocking bar 48 also causes it to move sufficiently underneath all of the wedges of the other key levers, so that none of the other key levers can be pressed down.

rlhe spring 60 is not essential and may be dispensed with, but it is useful in taking up lost motion, if any.

rEhe curtain operating mechanism is not allowed to work upon a person merely stepping upon the platform or even setting one of the key levers, but is held locked in position and is only released by pressing a release lever 61. The release lever 61 is pivoted at 62, see Fig. 9, and its inner end is adapted to lift a release catch 63 through the medium of a compression spring 64. The

upper end of the release catch 63 has a re turn bend and formed with a beveled detent 64, see Figs. 9, 12 and 13. Under normal conditions the release catch 63 is in its lower position with detent 64 standing in front of a stop 65 which is rigidly secured to the gear 19, see Figs. 9, 11, 12 and 13. 'Vhen a person stands on the platform, the gearing tends to turn gear 19 in the direction of the arrow, see Fig. 12, but this is prevented by the detent 64, so that the machine does not operate until the lever 61 is depressed, whereupon the detent 64 releases the stop 65, allowing the gearing to rotate the gear 19 and associated mechanism, which movement continues until arrested by one of the pins 51. Upon the person stepping off from the platform, the weight 34 produces the return movement, the gear 19 then moving in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 13, and when nearly at the completion of its movement as shown in Fig. 13, the stop 65 rides under the release catch 64, lifting the latter and being caught against rebound on the opposite side thereof as shown in Fig. 12. At the end of this return movement of the parts, the stop 65 strikes against the end 66 which is on a vertical extension 67 of the lever 57 and a spring 68, see Fig. 8, bears against the vertical extension 67 to support the extension 67 against the shock when the stop 65 strikes the end 66. When the end 66 is thus struck by the stop 65 it is swung back slightly and shifts the segmental interlocking bar back to normal position releasing the depressed key lever 41. When the parts are restored into normal position, the stop 65 thus lies between detent 64 and the end 66, see Fig. 11.

1n operation, the person stands on the plat-form 4 and then presses down the key lever 41 corresponding to the initial letter or set of names which he desires toX have displayed. The pressing down of this key lever 41 locks it in depressed position with the corresponding pin 51 projecting up.

He then presses the release key 61, whereupon the operating gear 19 is released and the weight of the person acts through the before described gearing to rotate the driving roller 26 and carry the curtain 33 along. As this movement continues, the pull of the paper 33 upon the driven roller 32 rotates the driven shaft 31 and the latter through pinion 30 drives gears 29 and shaft 28, which through pinion 27 drives the stopping gear 20, and the movement continues until one or the other of the stops 54 or 55 on the stopping gear 2O strikes the raise-d pin 51, which arrests further motion. This gearing, viz., gear 20, pinion 27, gear 29 and pinion 30 and their respective shafts, is passive gearing, that is, it is not the mechanism which drives or operates the curtain,`but is itself operated by the movement of the curtain, with the result that when this gearing is arrested by the raised pin, it being attached at the rear end of the curtain, prevents further movement of the curtain, while the curtain operating mechanism which consists of gears 19, pinion 21, gear 23 and pinion 24, continue to rotate under their impelling power and thus stretch the curtain taut and this prevents the curtain from buckling or dropping o the rollers. The curtain thus remains in displaying condition with the desired names in view, so long as the person stands upon the platform. :is soon as the person steps off from the platform the weight 34 acting through the hereinbefore described connections, imparts a reverse movement to all the gearing and causes the curtain to be restored to normal position.

1n order to govern the speed of movement, a governor 69 may be employed as shown in Fig. 7. r1`his may consist of any preferred construction, for example, as shown in Fig. 5, it may consist of an arm 70 rigidly secured to shaft 25 and which is connected by links 71 with shoes 72 which are adapted to bear against the inside of the stationary drum which forms the governor housing 69. 73 are extension springs which act to resist outward movement of the shoes 72 caused by centrifugal force. As the shoes 72 rotate with the shaft 25, they bear against the drum 69 with a pressure corresponding to the speed of rotation and thereby control the speed of rotation, by gripping harder as Ldie speed increases, and by relaxing as the speed decreases.

What 1 claim is:

1. r1`he combination of curtain supporting rollers, a curtain wound on said rollers, curtain operating mechanism. connected to one of said rollers for driving the same to wind the curtain, the curtain acting to rotate the other roller, and selective mechanism for stopping the curtain actuated roller at the desired point.

2. r1`he combination of curtain supporting rollers, a curtain Wound on said rollers, curtain operating mechanism connected to one of said rollers, a weight operated platform for operating said. curtain operating mechanism, gearing connected With the other or said rollers and operated hy the same, and a bank of keys for selectively controlling the operation of said gearing.

ln a platform operated machine, a lease, a pedestal, exhibiting means on said pedestal, a platform on the hase, mechanism for operating said exhibiting means, a plurality ot' racks on said ijilatlorm, a pair of shafts, pinions on the shafts meshing with the respective racks, sprockets on the respective shafts, a chain connecting said sprockets for producing synchronous operatioi'i of said shafts, and means connected with one of said shafts for actuating said mechanism.

4l. ln a platiiorm operated machine, a base, a pedestal, eXhibiting means on said pedes tal, a platform on the hase, mechanism for operating said exhibiting means, a plurality ot racks on said platter-m, a pair of shafts, pinions on the shafts meshing with the respective racks, sprockets on the respective shafts, chain connecting' said sprockets for producing synchronous operation of said shafts, said meclianism including a vertical shaft in said pedestal, said mechanism being connected to the upper end or said shaft, a Wheel on the lower end of said shaft, a wheel on one ot' 'd first named shats, and a connection from the latter Wheel to the first Wheel.

ln a platform operated machine, a pair of rollers, a curtain on said rollers, gearing for operating said curtain including a driving gear, a stop on said driving gear for normally holdin.' the same from turning, a

Weight operated platform for actuatingsaid Uopes of this patent may be obtained for ve gearing, a release catch having a detent en` gaging said stop, and a release lever for liliting said release catch to disengage said stop and permit the driving gear to rotate.

G. ln a platt'orm operated machine, a pair of rollers, a curtain on said rollers, gearing for operating said curtain including a driving gear, a stop on said driving gear l'or normally holding the same from turning, a YWeight operated platform for actuating said gearing, a release catch having a detent engagpging said stop, a release lever for lifting said release catch to disengage said stop and permit the driving gear to rotate, a series of key levers for controlling the movement of said curtain, a segmental interlocking loar for locking a depressed key lever and preventing the depression ol" other key levers, a lover having an end against which said stop is adapted to strike upon the return movement of the driving gear for shitting said segmental interlocking bar to normal position, and spring means supporting` the latter lever against the impact of said stop.

'i'. ln a platform operated machine, exhihiting mechanism, a platt'orn'i, means operated by the platform for actuating the exhibiting mechanism, means for stopping the exhibitiiig mechanism, including a stopping gear, a stop on said `gear with a spring linger, a hank or keys, and means associated ith the respective keys for being projected into the path of said spring linger to stop the stopping gear,

in testimony whereof l have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles, California, this Meth day ot 0ctoher, 1913.

FRED B. STAMM.

ln presence of- Gno. T. l-lAoKLnY, LORRAINE E. DUnnoiv.

cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington TO. C. 

